EastEnders casts former Brookside star as Claudette Hubbard’s foster son

Claudette Hubbard is set to get a blast from the past when her foster son turns up in Walford – but could he be the one to cause her secrets to spill out?

The newcomer, named Linford, will initially show up in a guest stint for a handful of episodes and it is currently unknown how Claudette will react to his arrival.

Linford will be played by a face familiar to some soap fans as ex Brookside actor Leon Lopez is taking on the role. He played a Jerome Johnson in the defunct Channel 4 soap between 1999 and 2002 and also featured in a spin-off special with Tim O Leary which saw him seek revenge on the thugs who killed Tinhead’s wife, Emily.

Speaking to Digital Spy, he said: ‘I’m so excited to be working on EastEnders and still can’t believe it! It really is a dream come true.’

Richard Blackwood, who plays Claudette’s biological son Vincent, recently told Metro.co.uk that there was a big twist in store for Claudette, teasing: ‘I’m telling you straight – you wait until you see how this unfolds. EastEnders are very smart with this mother and son relationship.

‘We filmed scenes recently where afterwards we pre-empted and even acted out how the audience were going to react – we actually called each other and said ‘oh my god that never happened!’ It’s well exciting that reaction for us and it will be tenfold for the audience. You will love it, trust me.’

(Picture: Metro/BBC)

He added: ‘You will see a lot of stuff unfold between Vincent and his mum definitely. It’s something that the audience, without realising it, has been waiting for. Vincent had his history with the Mitchells. The last thing we saw was Phil saying ‘what you heard isn’t true.’ But that all needs to unfold – what did Phil mean? The stuff with Vincent and his mum will blow you away.’